New from Western PA

[revdive]

This is for sure beginner friendly. I did a drift dive down the Rainbow River as my first dive out of Open Water class a few years ago, and it was plenty simple. I did not use a charter and did not start up in the state park (we used a family member's boat and started as close to the park as we could with a private boat), so we did have to tow a dive flag and figure things out ourselves. It is very shallow and the current is manageable, but depending on what part of the river you are in, be very careful about other boats (especially with the water being so shallow), and be careful not to get yourself tangled up in the small, private docks (with current, it can be difficult to get untangled). Using a dive operator, I am sure the dive is even easier and more beginner friendly. We saw a mix of fish, freshwater plants, and some turtles. I think my average depth was 8ft?

The viz was as good as the articles show, however I imagine after a solid rain, the viz does drop significantly. There are a few places where the river connects with other water sources heavy with tannins, so around those merges, the viz drops due to the mixing of the tea colored water. You also want to go on a sunny, and not cloudy day as it helps the viz out a lot.

It really does sound nice and manageable. Thanks for the info! I will be adding it to the list.

 

[revdive]

Update.. I passed my open water class today at Crusty's Quarry with Scott's SCUBA Service. Now I'm hooked lol

 

[Tracerbullet]

Welcome aboard

 

[Bierstadt]

Congratulations and welcome to the community. Wreck diving in Lake Erie is a fantastic experience for anyone interested in history. You'll dive with Lake Erie Adventure Charters in Erie or Osprey in Barcelona NY. Unfortunately the season has pretty much wrapped up at this point, but it's something to look forward to next year. There is also the PASST shipwreck survey team based in Erie that runs a class every June to train new survey divers for their teams that I recommend checking out. Call Diver's World in Erie for more information.

The best thing you can do now is get dives in before it gets cold and gain experience; Crustys is the local option, Gilboa in Ohio is the next step up, and obviously you are looking to do some diving down south. Good luck!

 

[revdive]

Congratulations and welcome to the community. Wreck diving in Lake Erie is a fantastic experience for anyone interested in history. You'll dive with Lake Erie Adventure Charters in Erie or Osprey in Barcelona NY. Unfortunately the season has pretty much wrapped up at this point, but it's something to look forward to next year. There is also the PASST shipwreck survey team based in Erie that runs a class every June to train new survey divers for their teams that I recommend checking out. Call Diver's World in Erie for more information.

The best thing you can do now is get dives in before it gets cold and gain experience; Crustys is the local option, Gilboa in Ohio is the next step up, and obviously you are looking to do some diving down south. Good luck!

Awesome! Would you have been one of the folks I talked to at the Tall Ships Festival? My kids and I were at the presentation for the shipwreck dive and loved all the information and would love to dive up there!

 

[Bierstadt]

@revdive I was! I have a list of people who signed up for more information and I am only getting to it now, so if that includes you I'll be in touch.

 

[Jehle]

welcome!
I am from Pittsburgh as well and have dived Crusty's Quarry many times!
I hope the bug bites you. It will drain your wallet and become an obsession in no time!

 

[Skull]

“In fact, we think Lake Erie has a greater density of shipwrecks than virtually anywhere else in the world—even the Bermuda triangle.” Because of incomplete record keeping, nobody knows the exact number of shipwrecks that have occurred in Lake Erie, but estimates range from 500 to 2000.Oct 24, 2021